Negotiators work to bring down nation's prescriptions

Chen Wen, a professor at Fudan University's School of Public Health and head of an expert panel gathered by the administration, said that calculations of the bottom-line price have taken into consideration pharmaco-economic analysis, the drug's listing price in China and overseas, and the price of its competitors.

"We have also placed emphasis on its (the inclusion of a drug) impact on expenditures within the national insurance fund," he said. "Another focus is to attach greater value to medicines considered truly innovative and that can bring great benefits."

According to the administration, 38 of the 91 newly added medicines are considered novel drugs in China and around the globe. The sheer number of novel drugs and their proportion among all additions have reached an all-time high.

The negotiation success rate for innovative drugs exceeds 90 percent, 16 percentage points higher than the overall rate.

Shi Yuankai, an oncologist at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences' Cancer Hospital in Beijing said that 26 cancer drugs, including 12 targeting lung cancer, have been newly added to the list, and the majority of them were authorized for the market by the top drug regulator in 2023 or 2024.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in China, with over one million new cases and more than 700,000 related deaths each year. "With new inclusions, patients with common or rare lung cancer types all have access to novel and high-quality drugs," he said.

Another drug that attracted widespread attention during the latest round of negotiations was the anti-epilepsy drug called Clobazam made by domestic company Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical.

Clobazam treats a severe form of epilepsy that strikes during infancy or early childhood. It affects about 600,000 people across China.

Even though the homegrown drug is not classified as an innovative drug, the pill is urgently needed as there is only one imported alternative on the Chinese market at present, which is not on the list.

Foreign-made Clobazam was unavailable on the Chinese mainland until the National Health Commission allowed temporary imports in June 2022. The domestic version of the drug obtained market authorization later that year and was included in reimbursements in late November.